FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION APPROVES
$699 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR WORLD TRADE CENTER SITE WORK

The Federal Transit Administration today awarded $699 million in grants to the Port Authority to implement key World Trade Center site infrastructure projects.

The federal agency also has completed an environmental review for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub project – a major milestone that will allow construction of the $2 billion facility to begin on time in late summer.

New York Governor George E. Pataki said, “These funds will help fulfill our unwavering commitment to the people of New York State and the region with respect to the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site. I’m extremely grateful for the help we continue to receive from our federal partners, and look forward to working with them as the redevelopment proceeds.”

Acting New Jersey Governor Richard J. Codey said, “It is vitally important to the tens of thousands of our citizens who work in, live in or visit Lower Manhattan that we continue to move aggressively forward to upgrade the transportation infrastructure on the site. These grants, coupled with the FTA’s approval of the environmental review for the transportation hub project, will ensure that these projects remain on track.”

Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia said, “While most of the attention at the World Trade Center site has focused on the Memorial, the Freedom Tower and the restoration of transportation services at the site, few people realize the fundamental importance of the below-ground infrastructure. These grants will provide the necessary resources for us to provide a portion of the infrastructure to permit vehicle access to the site through a security center and for the support of the site’s transportation hub.”

Port Authority Vice Chairman Charles A. Gargano said, “The rebuilding and revitalization of Lower Manhattan is our top economic development priority. These grants will allow us to move quickly to rebuild and improve the basic infrastructure at the World Trade Center site. The rebuilding of the site, including these projects, will generate $15 billion in total economic output in New York City and an average of 8,000 jobs each year for 13 years.”

Port Authority Executive Director Kenneth J. Ringler Jr. said, “One of our key priorities at the World Trade Center site is to ensure the safety and security of those who will visit the Memorial, work in the office buildings and patronize the retail shops. We are extremely pleased that the FTA has agreed to pay for a critical vehicle security center, which will permit underground access, and to provide other subgrade infrastructure for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub.”

The $699 million – requested by Governor Pataki on June 3 – will pay for the following projects:

A $478 million World Trade Center Security Center. The project involves the construction of a south “bathtub” between Liberty, West, Cedar and Greenwich streets that will contain a vehicle screening center as well as potential parking spaces for tour buses. The bathtub structure is to prevent underground water from coming in.

A $174 million project to build a bathtub on the eastern portion of the site bounded by Vesey, Liberty, Greenwich and Church streets. The project involves construction of slurry walls and site excavation to support the Transit Hall and north-south pedestrian concourses.

A $17 million project to install slurry wall liners in several locations to permanently reinforce existing walls that are now supported by tiebacks.

A $30 million project to install a hardened concrete-and-steel slab to protect pedestrians traveling along a portion of the future east-west corridor of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. The corridor will be located under the future extension of Fulton Street through the site.

In addition to the grants, the federal agency formally issued a Record of Decision to complete the Environmental Impact Statement process for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. The environmental review also incorporated an evaluation of historic resources at the World Trade Center site. The federal agency’s Record of Decision, noting that the project has satisfied the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, can be accessed at www.panynj.gov/pathrestoration.

The transportation hub project will seamlessly link a permanent World Trade Center PATH Terminal with New York City subways and Battery Park City ferries, as well as other destinations on and adjacent to the World Trade Center site.

The transportation hub, which will be operational in 2009, will include the PATH Terminal with a track and platform level, a mezzanine level, two concourse levels and access to streets surrounding the World Trade Center site. It also includes underground pedestrian connections to New York City subway stations on the 1, W, R and E lines, and the 2, 3, 4, 5, J, M, Z, A and C routes at the Fulton Street Transit Center. World-famous architect Santiago Calatrava developed the transportation hub design.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates many of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region. They include John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia and Teterboro airports; AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark; the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station; the Lincoln and Holland tunnels; the three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey; the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rapid-transit rail system; the Port Authority-Downtown Manhattan Heliport; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Container Terminal on Staten Island; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The agency also owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.

The Port Authority is financially self-supporting and receives no tax revenue from either state.